Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

From a certain literary perspective, "Venus in Furs" is a failure of a novel. Two rich, excessively cultured Europeans go on and on in a stiff, maddeningly formal tone, discecting their relationship and their complexes while neglecting to take their clothes off. It doesn't sound like a good time, does it?. But "Venus in Furs" is an accomplishment of sorts: while it can't be said to be a complete description of human sexuality, it provides a pretty good analysis of one very particular corner show more of it. Maybe you need to live there already to get it, but it's all there: the curious, paradoxical mixture of self-abnegation and egoism that drives most masochists, the combination of fear and intense desire that drives men who prefer a certain kind of strong-willed woman, and a general preference for extremes and drama. Modern readers may quibble with the author's take on the female character (inconstant, flighty) or race relations (decidedly exoticist), but it's hard to argue that he didn't know the terrain of his own desire. And desire's what this one's all about, really. The novel's by turns sumptous and shockingly physical, but its focus never strays much from the topic of beauty, even if it's a sort of beauty that's, ahem, somewhat unconventional. It's clear that the author, precious has he might be, doesn't just get a sexual thrill from seeing Wanda, the domme herself, bedecked in fur, but also real aesthetic pleasure: his references to European master painters aren't there by accident. Wanda herself is also a more comoplex character than one might expect. She's often very conscious of her own pleasure, the book asks whether Severin created her -- like a sexual version of Frankenstein's monster -- or if the games that they play merely brought out some dormant facet of her personality. Anyway, she never hesitates to call Severin's bluff, challenging him in ways that he finds both unconfortable and less than sexy. There's no "topping from below" from Wanda. The translation of my version seemd a good one, too: its lush and suitably ornate while maintaining a trace of what I'd like to imagine is a little Teutonic rigor. In a few scenes, the novel hits a perfect balance between sexy and cold-bloodedly terrifying. "Memorable" doesn't even begin to describe them. Finally, I got the sense that "Venus in Furs" is a better novel than it strictly has to be. The author probably deserves our praise for taking a subject that's ripe for cheap exploitation and writing a quality novel about it instead. It's recommended to a certain audience, and you know who you are. Perverts, suprasensualits, and raincoat-wearing sex creeps: this one's for you. show less

Classic. Underrated even in Decadent circles: I just consulted my old Mario Praz, The Romantic Agony, an inventory of Romantic and late-Romantic works on the theme of cruelty and the femme fatale -- Sacher-Masoch occurs twice in the index. What? There's how I let this one go by, when I was half the age I am and into late 19thC decadent fiction. From memory I read descriptions that put me off. I'm sad about that. On the other hand, I now discover an instant personal classic.

I think it's a show more wonderful book. Funny often, scary when things get out of hand. Well-told, so that several reviews say they couldn't put it down (neither could I). Well-written, with the lyrical effusions and philosophic ramblings of its era and subject present but under control. And its two mains, Severin and Wanda, are not stand-ins but fleshed-out creations, human, endearingly uncertain of whether or not they are serious about this enslavement idea in the first half ('Are you being serious?' 'Well, are you?'); subject to misgivings; with moments of cowardice on Severin's part, and when Wanda gets over-serious, you can read between Severin's lines and see her feelings have been mortified. The author does not conflate himself with Severin, even though he uses his life experiences -- he too took this train journey in a third-class carriage as his mistress' servant, under the same typical servant name. While we're here, I noticed that the ennobled Severin, at first horrified to be among the plebs and foreigners, finds them undisgusting human beings. Sacher-Masoch was a socialist, I saw afterwards.

Yes, Severin is 'cured' in the end of his yearnings to be whipped by a woman who espouses a bold Greek paganism and liberty from Christian constraints (let us acknowledge Wanda). But Don Quixote was cured in the end, and who believes that? One has to wrap these tales up piously, to keep the convention police off your back. Then the reader is left to judge the interlocutors' final statements, and exercise discretion as to what they themselves call the 'moral of the story'. show less

Não posso dizer que não é divertido, a história de sentimentos complexos, hesitantes e idealistas de um jovem romântico e sua vontade de controlar a sua submissão, de planejar sua perda de controle e de educar aquela que será sua senhora para que ele possa, em toda o esplendor se submeter. Mas como tudo isso é romântico ao extremo, há algo que falta, e que sobra a Sade, por exemplo. Uma clareza de alma, lá muito gélida, é verdade.

“Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather/Whiplash girlchild in the dark/Comes in bells, your servant, don't forsake him/Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart.” The Velvet Underground performed “Venus in Furs” in their 1967 self-titled album. The song was about the novel of the same name, written in 1870 by an Austrian history professor named Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Many more people have heard of the psychological condition than read his book, although this might change with the show more popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey. Venus in Furs is a literary ur-text, a book that establishes a genre and its conventions. (The Lord of the Rings is an ur-text of the epic fantasy genre.)

Masoch’s name is forever linked with another erotic philosopher, the Marquis de Sade. The nineteenth century German sexologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing linked the two writers together when he used the term sadomasochism to describe a particular sexual peculiarity involving pain and power. Krafft-Ebing wrote Psychopathia Sexualis in 1886 and inventories over 200 case studies. This work is the reason people lump together Masoch’s work with Sade’s, despite each author espousing radically different philosophies and writing styles. Masoch’s style is more symbolic and impressionistic, lacking the verbal crudity and explicitness of Sade.

Venus in Furs is the story of a man named Severin and his desire to become the slave of Wanda. Masoch planned the novel as part of a larger work called The Legacy of Cain. (Unlike the works of Sade, most of Masoch’s works have not been translated.) In a book length essay entitled Masoch: Coldness and Cruelty, French philosopher Gilles Deleuze explains how masochistic fantasies occur throughout Masoch’s work, but these scenes were linked to ethnic rituals and patriotic sentiment. Masoch lived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a multiethnic monarchy that had been ruled by the Hapsburg dynasty since the sixteenth century. In his other works, Masoch wrote about the empire’s various ethnic minorities.

The central narrative is what makes people uncomfortable. Not only does Severin reduce himself to the status of slave, but also he does so willfully. The term slavery should be properly qualified in this context. In the world of Venus in Furs and in the BDSM community at large, slaves and masters are roles. Temporary and theatrical, Severin makes him a slave through her signing a contract. Unlike the torture porn of Fifty Shades of Grey, which exists more within the Sadean universe, Severin and Wanda create ritualized tablueas. Deleuze relates how these scenes have the frozen quality of photography, then a burgeoning technology.

What is one to make of a situation where an individual willfully dehumanizes him or herself? It is a tricky subject, investigated by psychologists and literary theorists. However, unlike chattel slavery or international sex trafficking, these contractual situations have a definite termination. It is also another means for individuals to receive personal satisfaction. The discomfort comes when readers or self-righteous politicians feel the need to judge Severin’s kinks. Just because his desire to be enslaved superficially resembles America’s peculiar institution doesn’t make it morally wrong like American slavery. In fact, connecting the two is both intellectually dishonest and inaccurate. (America’s fetish for sexual regulation, repression, and oppression is causing enough heartache and hypocrisy this election cycle.)

So what does Venus in Furs tell us about being human? Masoch illustrates the linkages between power and desire. One should not prejudge the predilections of others, except where health and minors are concerned. Being human also means that some of our fellow beings don’t automatically desire to be the dominant figure. Some, like Masoch, desire to be the subservient member of the scenario. But one shouldn’t see this behavior as existing in a psychological vacuum, since Masoch tied his literary works with his commitment to championing the rights of ethnic minorities within the Austro-Hungarian empire. With Venus in Furs the personal is the political.

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